October 2008 Current Events

Iraq Takes Control of Awakening Councils (Oct. 1):
The Iraqi government takes command of 54,000 mainly Sunni fighters from
the U.S., which had been paying the fighters for their support. The
fighters, members of awakening councils, turned against al-Qaeda in
Mesopotamia in 2007 and began siding with the U.S.

Russian Peacekeepers Are Killed in South Ossetia (Oct.
3): Two days after European Union observers arrive in Georgia
to monitor Russia's pull-out of troops from the troubled region, a car
bomb explodes in the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali, killing seven
Russian peacekeepers. (Oct. 8): Complying with the
cease-fire agreement brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in
early August, Russia starts removing troops from buffer zones
surrounding the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South
Ossetia. The withdrawal is observed by 200 European Union members.

Anti-government Protests in Thailand Become Deadly (Oct. 7):
Two people are killed and more than 400 wounded in fighting
between security forces and anti-government protesters. Demonstrators,
tyring to prevent the inauguration of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat,
barricade lawmakers inside the Parliament building.

Ukraine's President Dissolves Parliament (Oct. 9):
After weeks of political turmoil that saw the collapse of his
pro-Western coalition, President Viktor Yushchenko signs an order to
dissolve Parliament and calls for new elections. The vote is scheduled
for Dec. 7, 2008; it will be the third parliamentary election since
Yushchenko took office in 2004.

U.S. Revises Estimate of Civilian Deaths in Afghan Raid
(Oct. 8): The New York Times reports that an inquiry by
the U.S. military found that more than 30 civilians and fewer than 20
militants were killed in an Aug. 22 raid by coalition forces on the
western village of Azizabad. The U.S. initially said between five and
seven civilians and up to 35 militants died, but the Afghan government
said as many as 90 Afghan civilians, 60 of them children, died in the
attack.

U.S. Removes North Korea from Terrorism List (Oct.
11): North Korea agrees to give international inspectors access
to its nuclear plant at Yonbyon and to continue disabling its
plutonium-processing facility. In exchange, the U.S. State Department
removes the country from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Sudan Arrests Militia Leader Wanted by The Hague (Oct.
13): Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kushayb, also known as Ali
Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman, who has been named by the International
Criminal Court as a suspect in the murder, rape, and displacement of
thousands of civilians in Sudan’s Darfur region is arrested by
Sudanese police. He is not, however, handed over to the ICC.

Canadian Prime Minister Is Reelected (Oct. 14): The
Conservative Party, led by Stephen Harper, defeats the Liberal Party in
national elections. The Conservatives, however, fail to win a majority
in the House of Commons and will form a minority government, the third
in four years.

Iraq and the U.S. Complete Draft of Security Agreement (Oct.
17): Draft agreement, outlined in the media but not publicly
released, calls for all U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by the end
of 2011, depending on the conditions in Iraq. Plan also gives U.S.
military personnel immunity from Iraqi law except for serious
premeditated felonies committed outside their "duty status." Iraq will
have jurisdiction over private U.S. contractors, however. (Oct.
21): Members of the Iraqi cabinet say they will not approve the
agreement without amendments.

Taliban Insurgents Engage in Grisly Attack (Oct.
19): Fighters pull as many as 30 men from a bus traveling in
Kandahar and behead them. A Taliban spokesman says the passengers were
members of the Afghan National Army. The Afghan government denies the
claim, saying the men were civilians traveling to Iran to seek
work.

U.S. Troops Launch an Air Attack into Syria (Oct.
26): American Special Operations Forces kill a leader of
al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia in a helicopter attack in Syria, near the Iraqi
border. U.S. officials say the militant, Abu Ghadiya, has smuggled
weapons, money, and fighters into Iraq from Syria.

Fighting Intensifies in Congo (Oct. 27): After
capturing the major army base of Rumangaboebel, rebel forces in the
northeast part of the country who are loyal to a Tutsi general, Laurent
Nkunda, advance toward Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. Angry
civilians attack UN peacekeeping troops, frustrated that they were not
able to thwart the rebels. About 250,000 civilians have fled their homes
since a peace accord fell apart in August. (Oct. 29):
The rebels stop outside of Goma and declare a cease-fire.

Peaceful Regions of Somalia Rocked by Bombings (Oct.
29): At least 28 people are killed in five suicide-bombings in
northern Somalia. Somali officials cast blame on the militant Islamic
group Shabab, which has been battling the transitional government. The
highest death toll is in Hargeisa, the capital of the breakaway northern
region of Somaliland.

Petraeus Takes Over as Head of Central Command (Oct.
31): Gen. David Petraeus will oversee military operations in
Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Iran, and other countries.

Senate Approves Nuclear Deal with India (Oct. 1):
Votes, 86 to 13, to end the ban on trading nuclear fuel with India. In
passing the measure, the Senate ratifies the agreement, which will allow
India to buy nuclear fuel on the world market for its reactors as long
as it uses the fuel for civilian purposes only. India has agreed to give
international inspectors access to its 14 civilian nuclear plants. Eight
military facilities, however, will remain outside the purview of
inspectors. The ban was imposed by the U.S. in 1974 after India tested a
nuclear weapon.

Candidates Hold Series of Debates (Oct. 2): Vice
presidential candidates, Democrat Joe Biden, senator from Delaware, and
Republican Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, clash over the war in Iraq,
tax policy, oil and the environment, and the financial crisis that has
dominated the news and Washington. Palin displays a folksiness
ostensibly meant to appeal to middle America, and Biden politely attacks
Palin's characterization of McCain as a maverick. "Go to a kids’
soccer game on Saturday and turn to any parent there on the sideline and
ask them, ‘How are you feeling about the economy?’ ”
Palin says. “And I’ll betcha you’re going to hear some
fear in that parent’s voice, fear regarding the few investments
that some of us have in the stock market—did we just take a major
hit with those investments." Attacking McCain, Biden says, "He’s
not been a maverick when it comes to education—he has not
supported tax cuts and significant changes for people being able to send
their kids to college. He’s not been a maverick on the war.
He’s not been a maverick on virtually anything that generally
affects the things that people really talk about." (Oct.
7): The economic crisis dominates the second debate between
presidential candidates, Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen.
Barack Obama. The candidates are somewhat reserved and less combative
than had been expected. Obama, however, casts the blame for the crisis
on deregulation under the Bush administration, and links McCain to the
president. McCain says that Obama favors increased spending and higher
taxes. (Oct. 15): In their third and final debate,
McCain and Obama spar on domestic issues, including the economy,
healthcare, and the environment. By far the most contentious debate, the
candidates sharply criticize each other's plans on those issues. When
Obama suggests that a McCain presidency would mirror that of President
Bush, McCain responds, "Senator Obama, I am not President Bush. If you
wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years
ago.”

Federal Judge Orders That Guantánamo Bay Detainees Be
Freed (Oct. 7): Judge Ricardo Urbina, of the Federal District
Court, orders the Bush administration to release 17 members of the
Uighur Muslim minority from western China, saying they have never posed
a threat to the U.S., nor have they fought against the U.S. They have
been held at Guantánamo Bay since 2002. (Oct.
8): A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit issues a temporary stay of Judge Urbina's order so the
appeals court can review a Justice Department request for a longer stay
of the order.

Connecticut Legalizes Gay Marriage (Oct. 10): The
state's Supreme Court rules that a state law that limits marriage to
heterosexual couples and a civil union law that protects gay couples
violate equal protection rights guaranteed by the constitution.
Connecticut is the third state in the U.S., behind Massachusetts and
California, to legalize gay marriage.

Investigation Concludes That Palin Abused Power (Oct. 10):
An investigation by Alaska's legislature finds that Sarah
Palin, the state's governor and Republican vice presidential candidate,
violated the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act when she used her office
in an attempt to get her former brother-in-law, a state trooper,
fired.

Bush Administration Memorandum Asserts Federal Money Can
Fund Groups That Discriminate Based on Faith (Oct. 18): The
New York Times reports that a 2007 Justice Department legal
opinion concluded that under the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act,
federal entities subject to anti-discrimination law can give money to
groups that hire only people of a certain faith.

Powell Endorses Obama (Oct. 19): Former secretary
of state Colin Powell, a Republican, calls Democratic presidential
candidate Barack Obama a "transformational figure." He expresses regret
that the endorsement came at the expense of his personal friend,
Republican nominee John McCain. "It isn't easy for me to disappoint Sen.
McCain in the way that I have this morning, and I regret that," Powell
said on NBC's Meet the Press. But I firmly believe that at this
point in America's history, we need a president that will not just
continue, even with a new face and with the changes and with some
maverick aspects, who will not just continue basically the policies that
we have been following in recent years."

Alaska Senator Is Convicted of Violating Ethics Laws (Oct.
27): A jury finds Republican Ted Stevens guilty of seven felony
charges for lying on financial disclosure forms and failing to report
more than $250,000 in gifts from the VECO Corporation, one of the
state's biggest oil-field contractors. He says he will continue with his
reelection campaign. He has served in the Senate for 40 years.

Senate Passes Bailout Plan (Oct. 1): Two days after
the House of Representatives rejected a similar deal, the Senate votes,
74 to 25, in favor of a "sweetened" plan. In addition to the provisions
in the $700 billion measure rejected by the House, which gives the
Treasury unprecedented authority to buy a wide range of troubled
financial assets, limits executive pay, gives the government an equity
stake in companies that participate in the plan, and gives the federal
government the ability to recoup losses from the financial industry
after five years, the Senate plan increases from $100,000 to $250,000
the amount of bank deposits covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation and extends $150 billion in tax breaks to individuals and
companies. (Oct. 3): The House of Representatives,
reversing an earlier vote, approves the bailout package, 263 to 171.
President Bush signs the measure into law. Included in the package is a
provision that requires employers and group health plans to provide
equal insurance coverage for mental health care as for physical care.
(Oct. 6): On the first day of trading since the bailout
bill was signed into law, stock markets in America, Europe, and Asia
experience their steepest declines in two decades. The Financial Times
Stock Exchange Index suffers its biggest one-day drop (in terms of
points), and Russia's stock market plummets by almost 20%. (Oct.
8): Tokyo's benchmark index falls 9.4% and Hong Kong's dips by
8.2%. (Oct. 9): In the most active day in New York
Stock Exchange history, investors sell off stocks in a panic, and the
Dow closes below 9,000 for the first time in five years. In addition,
the Icelandic stock exchange suspends trading, and the government
nationalizes three major banks. (Oct. 10): The Bush
administration begins to reconsider the priorities of the $700 billion
bailout package, shifting focus toward recapitalizing banks.
(Oct. 11): The finance ministers from the Group of 7
industrialized nations meet in Washington to formulate a coordinated
plan to stem the escalating financial crisis. They agree to protect the
deposits of citizens and to prevent the failure of additional financial
companies. (Oct. 14): The Bush administration announces
plans to invest $250 billion in nine of the largest U.S. banks as part
of its continued effort to control the financial crisis. The move is
part of the $700 billion bailout package.

Economy Suffers Huge Job Losses in September (Oct.
3): The Labor Department reports that 159,000 jobs were lost in
September, the most in five years.

Earthquake Causes Devastation in Pakistan(Oct. 29):
A 6.5 magnitude earthquake hits Baluchistan, one of the country's
poorest regions. At least 200 people are killed and more than 15,000 are
left homeless.

Economy Shrinks for First Time in Years (Oct. 30):
The gross domestic product drops 0.3%. It's the first decrease
in the GDP in 17 years.